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Finally extracted our honey

Well we finally got a Sunday free where we could extract our honey.
Not a big harvest this year but I aggressively split the one hive that made it through the 2011-2012 winter a couple of times and ended up with three active hives. I probably took honey on two hives that I shouldn’t have so if I loose two it may be to starvation or mites. Next spring we will see and learn.
Extractor improvements:
I changed the mounting of the 3 inch PVC center pipe using a toilet flange that was machined down and drilled to accept screws on the ceiling fan. This worked great. It uses a O-ring (normally for sealing) to drive the center tube which carries the frames on metal clips. A lexan plate covers the motor ventilation holes and acts as a slinger for any honey that drips on it.
The wooden top bearing brace was painted and a section was cut out to facilitate loading of the frames without removing the brace. Cabinet drawer ball bearings were added (4) to prevent chafing of the PVC on wood that happened in the prototype. The brace was also screwed to the plastic barrel so I did not have to hold it in like last year. It is now a hands off extractor. Some of you thought that was a big issue.
The wiring was run through the center of the PVC tube to eliminate the wire being in the path of the wet honey.
Four stainless angles were added to the bottom of the barrel as feet to lift the barrel so as not to touch in the center and give the system more stability. Of course shimmy is to be expected if frames of different weight are added in an unsymmetrical pattern. As you can see in the video these frames were pretty well matched.

Re: Finally extracted our honey

Originally Posted by jwbee

What was your cost to build that?
Is that a motor designed for an extractor?

Again , impressive.

Well if you are not going to get too technical including gas mileage and such I spent less than 20 bucks (mostly electrical fittings). The stainless steel stock I had in my basement but that is not more than 30 bucks.
The motor is a ceiling fan motor which is perfect for the application as long as you don't let any honey get in it. The slinger disc and toilet flange worked perfect. This time we barely got honey on the floor.
My biggest issue was a lot of the honey that was crystallized in the comb. This created some shimming as you would expect as the frames emptied but was still able to run hands off. I just didn't leave the room like I did on the first batch you see in the video.

Re: Finally extracted our honey

No, a ceiling fan motor does not have enough torque to handle much friction so you either have to hang it like it is when it is used as a fan or you have to set the frame rotor on top of the motor like I did. However if you look at a typical cloths washer I think you could convert one into a honey extractor but you will not have much capacity. You would have to be draining the tank while the basket is spinning out honey.
Warning if you try this. Using a washing machine will be somewhat dangerous because the motor is more powerful and it is not a torque limiting device. You could easily take your arm off if you got caught up in it while it was spinning.

Re: Finally extracted our honey

I can see see the headlines now. "Man makes homemade Honey Extractor out of a washing machine and spends hundred of thousands of dollars in Medical bills instead of spending $1,200 with Maxant". Reminds me of Tim Allen from Home Improvement. MORE POWER.......

Re: Finally extracted our honey

Originally Posted by BeeCurious

Except for adding a seal, why/how would there be more friction with the motor mounted underneath?

The shaft will pass through the honey. Because of imbalance I would not use less than a 3/4 shaft. The bigger the shaft the more resistance going through the honey. The mounting of the bearings and the motor would not be adequate if the vessel was a plastic drum.
Secondly, the coupling. How will you couple a ceiling fan motor to this shaft without adding a whole lot of friction (relative to the torque capacity of the motor)? all of these issues are solved if you use a cloths washer but the motor cannot be a ceiling fan motor or any motor that has limited torque.

Before you invested a lot of time in making one I would suggest trying it with the motor on top and a small bearing in the bottom and holding the motor by hand like some have done with a drill. This would prove that there is enough torque. Who knows, maybe you can get away with it.

Re: Finally extracted our honey

I probably should mention that the way I have constructed my extractor provides a lot of cooling air to the motor in the bottom. The frames act like fan blades. You can feel a considerable amount of air coming out of the barrel. The incoming air travels down the PVC center shaft going through the motor and then out the barrel along the outside edge. I run this extractor in the direction that the vanes in the motor will pull air down the tube. I don't know if the ceiling fan motor will keep cool if it were mounted on top or below the barrel.

Re: Finally extracted our honey

The shaft will pass through the honey. Because of imbalance I would not use less than a 3/4 shaft. The bigger the shaft the more resistance going through the honey. The mounting of the bearings and the motor would not be adequate if the vessel was a plastic drum.

Your vessel is a plastic drum.... add a drain "la voila"

Secondly, the coupling. How will you couple a ceiling fan motor to this shaft without adding a whole lot of friction (relative to the torque capacity of the motor)?

A spline coupling...

Before you invested a lot of time in making one I would suggest trying it with the motor on top and a small bearing in the bottom and holding the motor by hand like some have done with a drill. This would prove that there is enough torque. Who knows, maybe you can get away with it.

I will leave the acrobatics to others...

I was replying for your benefit. Trust me, I'm not making an extractor. Unless of course I find a ceiling fan approved for food contact...

Re: Finally extracted our honey

Hi Ace
Very nice extractor in action! My concern regarding your design is how easy to clean it after use? My understanding is that you have to remove the motor, right? Also, do you use any bearings on top and bottom? If so, how you isolate them from honey and honey from grease? Sergey